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'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN H. ALDRICH O. C. FOOTE, OF RUSHVILLE, NEW YORK.

WASHING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent o. 4,376, dated February 10, 1846.

To all 'whom i may concern:

Be it known that we, J oHN H. ALDRroH and O. C. FooTE, of Rushville, in the county of -Yates and State of New York, have in,- vented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for Washing Clothes, and that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the principle or character thereo-f, which distinguishes it from all other things before known, and of the manner of making, constructing, and using the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a` perspective view of the machine and Fig. 2, a longitudinal vertical section.

The same letters indicate like parts in all the figures.

The nature of our invention consists in subjecting the clothes in a tub or box, to the combined action of rubbing, squeezing and pounding by means of a rubber or pounder, connected with a hand lever by means of two jointed links, so that as the lever is depressed, the pounder or rubber shall gradually approach a fluted wash board -at the bottom, rubbing and squeezing the clothes, and then strike against the back of the tub or box, to pound the clothes which have been pushed toward the back either by the action of the rubber or by the hand of the attendant. One of the links being jointed to the back of the rubber or pounder, and the other to the top thereof, the latter being jointed to the handle abo-ut midway between the fulcrum of the handlever and the joint of the other link to insure the compound movement of the rubber or pounder.

In the accompanying drawings (a) represents a square wash tub or box with an inclined bottom, provided with a fluted wash board The back (c) of the box is curved inward as it rises from the bot-tom to form a recess to receive the clothes and turn them therein when under the action of the pounder, and from the upper part of this curved recess the surface of the back is fluted to form a washboardl against which the person operating the machine may rub any part of the clothes that may require extra washing.

The pounder or rubber (d) is in length nearly equal to the width of the box or Y tub that it may move freely therein; its f under surface is smooth or fluted, and the face which acts against the back of the .tub beveled and luted to tend to turn the clothes. This pounder or rubber is connected with a hand lever (e), V(turning ona fulcrum pin on a standard (f) at the back) by means of two links (g) and (h), the one (g) jointed to the back of the pounder or rubber (d), and to the lever about midway between the fulcrum and handle, and the other (7L) to the top and connected with the lever about midway between the joint of the link (g) and the fulcrum. As a farther guide to the rubber or pounder a rod (i) extends from the back of it, and passes through a hole in the back of this box and above the water line.

The clothes are laid on the wash board (o) with a small quantity of suds, and the rubber or pounder (cl) put in, and operated by hand. As the lever is depressed the rubber gradually approaches the wash board (b) by the combined action of the two links (g) and (it) and rubs the clothes at the same time that it compresses them; this gradually pushes the clothes back into the recess in the wash boa-rd, where they are pounded at the end of the downward motion of the lever which in connection with the link (it) forms a progressive lever or toggle joint that gradually gains power from the commencement of the operation to the end, where the greatest amount of force is required to pound the clothes.

What we claim as our invention and def sire to secure by Letters Patent is- Connecting the pounder or rubber of a washing machine with the hand lever by means' of the two jointed links to give it the .required downward and forward motions whereby the clothes in the box or tub are rubbed and squeezed or compressed on the wash board atfthe bottom, and pounded against the back as herein described.

JOHN H. ALDRICH. OTIS C. FOOTE.

Witnesses A. TORREY, v Former HABKNEss. 

